Spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday that 15 US senators had advocated for the agreement in the past two weeks, showing 'important momentum' in the Senate over the controversial deal. 'The fact is that the arrangements between Iran and the IAEA are sound and consistent with the IAEA's long-established practice,' Earnest said. On July 14, Iran and the P5+1 countries finalized the text of the agreement, dubbed the JCPOA, in the Austrian city of Vienna. Under the JCPOA, limits will be put on Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all economic and financial bans against the Islamic Republic. The UNSC on July 20 unanimously adopted a draft resolution turning the JCPOA into an international law. All 15 members of the UN body voted for the draft UN resolution in New York, setting the stage for the lifting of the Security Council sanctions against Iran. His comments coincide with growing momentum among Democrats in favor of the agreement, struck by Iran and six world powers in July, despite a couple of high-profile defections. Congress is poised to vote on a resolution in September that could disapprove of the P5+1 agreement. Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, are almost uniformly opposed to the deal and expect to garner enough votes to pass the resolution of disapproval. But they would need at least 13 Democrats in the Senate and 44 Democrats in the House to join them in order to override a presidential veto, and Obama has declared in no uncertain terms that he will employ his veto pen against any attempts to kill the landmark deal. Just 12 of the House's 188 Democrats have publicly rejected the deal, largely placing attention on the Senate.
